What Does Love Smell Like?
by Benedoodle Cabbagepatch
Summary: Lily Evans gives a try in the making of Amortentia.


Lily had always been fascinated by potions.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was; perhaps, the fact that she was a Muggleborn, and the idea of a liquid, a drink that, - dependable on its power and the things that had helped put it together, of course - could... well, could cheer someone up, could heal wounds, could _gain someone actual luck_, well... well, that was kind of fantastic. A bit insane, but also, and _entirely_ just absolutely _fascinating_.

And, sure, Lily had felt overwhelmed - this might be a bit of an understatement, mind you - by _all _the magic that filled Hogwarts when she had first arrived, 7 years ago, as a little 11 year old. But by now she had gotten used to most of that, the spells, the ghosts, all that. But not potions. Something about potions had just _stuck_.

She knew very well that she was quite alone in her adoration of the subject - well, of course others liked Potions just as much as she did, she didn't claim to be the only one to see the brilliance of this class. But, unfortunately, none of her mates thought this. This was obvious by the way their eyes rolled and the known groans of _oh-no-here-she-goes-again _appeared every time she casually tried to slip potions into the conversation.

Lily had long ago, despite her unwillingness in doing so, learned to not speak of potions unless they were in such a class.

This, however, showed to be more frustrating than she had ever imagined. See, when you are so enthusiastic about something, whatever it is, you often develop some very strong opinions on the matter.

And strong opinions was exactly what Lily had about potions.

This may have also been the reason why she showed so great disapproval, when Professor Slughorn had asked her to try and make Amortentia, a love potion, and earn some extra credits.

"But- _Professor_," she spluttered. "I hardly think that- _Amortentia?"_

Professor Slughorn gave her a smile. "Ah, don't fret, m'dear. I have no doubt that you'll be able to make the potion! You are one of my best students."

It seemed, Slughorn had made the mistake of thinking that she showed unwillingness in the idea of making the potion because she feared she hadn't the _skill._

And, yes, of _course_ that was one of her doubts as well. Because Amortentia was extremely difficult to make, and Lily reckoned it wouldn't just be done with the flick of her wand. It would take time, skill, hard concentration - still, this wasn't what was troubling her most.

No, what was causing her to_ really _fret, was the fact that she thought this potion was so utterly _daft._

_Honestly, _fake love? How desperate was that? And what was the point even, of such a potion? First thing, if you actually managed to get someone to _drink _it, what then? They'd _think_ they loved you, but obviously it'd be fake feelings, and she couldn't imagine someone would actually _want_ that - fake love, she meant. How could you truly be happy, knowing that the only reason a person was with you, was because of a potion that they had - most likely unwillingly - drunk?

And, not to mention, no one ought to have that kind of_ power_ over someone.

No, if you asked Lily, this potion was codswallop. And she intended to tell Slughorn so.

Unfortunately, the professor seemed to take her short silence as she thought all this, as a sign of - what, Anxiousness? Insecurity? Well, no matter what he figured it was, he gave her shoulder a heartedly pat and said, "I understand that you might think this potion is too difficult, Lily. By Merlin, it _is_ the most powerful love potion in the world! But I've faith in you, m'dear. If you'd be able to make the potion successfully, it ought to look brilliant if you're sending in an application for St. Mungo's. You can borrow the classroom ... hm, I should think that it's available next Tuesday at 6 pm."

And just like that, before she got the chance to object, tell him that she did _not_ intend on making that bloody potion, much less spend her Tuesday night on it, Slughorn gave her another smile, turned around, and trotted out of the classroom.

And so, Lily found herself spending her Tuesday afternoon anyway on making Amortentia in the Potions classroom.

"_Stir the cauldron counter-clockwise five times, before adding the crushed belladonna seeds_," Lily read aloud from the book, her fingers running along the words. She looked up at the steaming cauldron in front of her which had begun taking the pink colour that it should. She did as the book instructed, stirring the liquid, before carefully letting the belladonna fall into the cauldron. The potion gave a little '_szzzzz'_ sound as they hit, and the seeds quickly disappeared down in the pink mixture.

"_Leave the potion to simmer for two minutes at low heat. The potion should then have a distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen and the steam will rise in spirals, if done correctly._"

So Lily did as instructed by the Potions book in front of her, and set the heat to low. She placed her chin in the palm of her hand as she waited, her other hand tapping impatiently against the table, her thoughts beginning to wander.

Merlin, this potion had been harder to perform than she had expected. More than once, she had had to act quickly, using both hands to both stir the mixture and add some other ingredient to it.

And Lily had to admit, despite her disdain for Amortentia, she had enjoyed getting a challenge. Yes, it had been downright fun to put her skills to the test and when she had read that this potion was stamped as _Advanced_, her competitive side had shown, determined to succeed, to prove that she could make an Advanced potion.

Finally, as the two minutes had passed, she turned off the heat. And- Merlin, she had done it! As she compared the pictures in the book with her own potion, she felt her heart jump with excitement, for the colours, the spirals rising up from her potion, did indeed match the ones in the book completely.

Her plan had been to put some of the potion in a vial and then hand it over to Slughorn, as she figured he might be interested in the outcome, and then she'd get rid of the rest. Partly, because it was way too dangerous to leave around for anyone to just grab and take and partly because she wasn't interested in having any of it.

But... well, according to the book, the aroma of the potion, the smell, was different from person to person - depending on who they loved.

And, hell, of _course_ Lily was curious as to what it would smell like to her. Who wouldn't be?

She'd made the potion, hadn't she? And it wasn't like she was committing a crime by smelling it, was it?

So she bent over the cauldron, preparing to inhale the scent, and-

"Oi! Lily!"

She jerked her head up and quickly backed away from the cauldron. She turned round to the door where the voice had sounded from.

"James?" she said.

"I'm glad I found you." James grinned as he walked inside.

He was dressed in Quidditch clothes, so Lily assumed he had just been to practice. Beside from that, he was absolutely, completely and grossly covered in mud from head to toe.

"You're cleaning that up yourself," she warned and pointed to the trail of dirt he had left behind him.

He looked over his shoulder quickly and shrugged. "Sure thing. Listen, I just wanted to- what's that?" His attention had turned from her to the cauldron filled with the pink liquid.

"That's a potion, stupid," she said and rolled her eyes, hoping to avoid the subject of just _what_ kind of potion it was so she wouldn't have to endure the teasing, but it was painfully obvious, and James wasn't stupid.

"That's Amortentia," he said, a grin forming on his lips. He leaned over the table, his arms resting upon it as he shot her a teasing smirk, his eyebrows wiggling. "Well, well, well. Lily Evans, I wouldn't have thought this of you. Using dirty methods to seduce that special one, are we? You hardly need a potion for that."

"Oh, _shut_ it, you ponce," she muttered and lashed out, hitting his arm lightly. "Slughorn asked me to do it. He says it'll look good if I apply for St. Mungo's."

"You're applying to St. Mungo's?"

She shrugged. "I've considered it. But I'm not sure."

"You ought to. I reckon you'd be brilliant," James said.

Her heart gave a little jump at the compliment. "I need more time to think. Would you just- Merlin, James, step_ away,_ you _stink_!"

He laughed and stood up. Thankfully, he took a couple of steps away, raising his hands. "It's the smell of _Quidditch,_ Lil. The best smell in the world."

"It's the smell of mud and sweat," she replied flatly, folding her arms across her chest. "And it's gross."

He snorted. "Clearly someone can't appreciate the _scent_ of _hard work_."

"Not when it smells like you showered in Dungbombs!"

He gasped, placing a hand dramatically over his heart. "Lily Evans, how _dare _you." He chuckled and let his hand fall back down. "Listen, I'll leave in a bit, alright, then you'll be free of my oh-so terrible stink, yeah? I just came to tell you that the Prefect's meeting is moved to Wednesday."

"But that's _tomorrow_!" she protested and stared at him. Honestly, the bloke couldn't just re-schedule like that! And especially not with such short notice! As Head Boy and Head Girl, the two of them were responsible of making the monthly meetings with the Prefects. "Why not on Friday, like it was _supposed_ to be?"

"Because on _Friday_, Gryffindor Team has gotten the Quidditch pitch," he explained and Lily groaned, restraining the urge to slap a hand over her face.

"Well, you're the bloody Captain, can't you get the pitch some other day?"

"Lily," James said and his face had gotten a mask of seriousness over it. He stepped closer again over to her, grabbing her shoulders. "This is a matter of _honour_. Do you know how hard we had to fight so the Ravenclaw's wouldn't occupy it? _Hard,_ I'm telling you. Blood were shed, mark my words. Do you _really _want us to miss such a great chance of extra practicing with a match so close?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yes! Yes, I do!"

Merlin, blokes and their sport! She had never really been a fan of Quidditch, and it beat her how so many people could get so obsessed by that stupid game.

"This is about Gryffindor pride! We must keep the dignity of our House!" he continued. "Surely, you don't want us to lose our dignity. _Especially_ not after what little Robert Millers had to go through for our team?

She sighed, sensing it was a lost cause with him, and she didn't even want to _know_ what Robert Millers had done. "I s'pose not. Fine, you dolt, we'll have the damn meeting tomorrow."

"Yes! Brilliant!" he exclaimed and grinned. He stepped away from her again and headed for the door, winking at her over his shoulder. "I'll leave you to your act of seducement, then." He nodded to the cauldron filled with Amortentia.

"_It's not an act of seducement!"_

"Whatever you say, Evans!"

Before he left, he found his wand and with a flick of his hand - oh, that _show-off_ - the mud trail disappeared.

Merlin, what a sod.

Lily turned back to the table. She eyed to door suspiciously a couple of moments, as if expecting him to return any moment now with that annoying grin of his and more teasing remarks, but it seemed he had actually left.

Well, then.

She looked back at the cauldron, leaned over, finally, _finally_ inhaling the scent, and...

And jolted back, covering her nose as she spluttered.

What in the _rudding hell_ was that? Had she done something wrong? Surely she must have, because the potion smelled _vile, _positively _disgusting!_ Wasn't Amortentia supposed to smell sweet?

Well, _this_ certainly did not! It smelled like...

She leaned over the cauldron again and dared another sniff, trying to identify the smell.

She shook her head and looked at the book, her finger running over the pages, now and then glancing at the table where remains of the ingredients she had used lay scattered around. She _would_ find out what she had done wrong.

The love potion smelled strongly of mud and sweat.


End file.
